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OnePlus 3 hands-on review

| Nov 4th, 2016

OnePlus phones have always combined great specs with excellent value for money and bold design – and now with the OnePlus 3, everything has been improved. We took a closer look.

The OnePlus 3 has a rich, metal body that feels expensive in the hand. With a slight curve around the back, delicately chamfered edges and 3D glass on the fascia, whether picking it up, holding the phone or swiping across the Gorilla Glass 4 display, you’ll be impressed.

Dashing into a meeting? A textured quick toggle, on the side on the OnePlus 3 will turn off sound alerts while the Ambient Display will subtly pulse notifications on-screen so you never miss a thing.

That screen is a Full HD 5.5-inch IPS panel. This translates to a detailed, rich picture and ample size. As such, the OnePlus 3 will showcase web pages and documents to perfection.

Built for business apps

Running Android, there’s also full support for Microsoft Office 365 from O2. This means Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, in the palm of your hand. With OneDrive, you can edit a document on the go, store it in the cloud and then resume editing when you’re back at your computer for the ultimate in efficient working.

OnePlus also pairs Android with its own Oxygen OS, an interface that is customisable and at the same time, ensures all the shortcuts you need are at your fingertips.

Super snapper

The OnePlus 3 also has an incredible 16-megapixel rear camera. Plenty of pixels means plenty of detail, and plenty of shooting modes mean something for everyone. If you’re a quick picture taker, automatic mode will make all the decisions for you. Meanwhile, keen photographers can dive into manual mode and turn out pictures worthy of a company website or top tier presentation.

At the front, the OnePlus 3 also has an 8-megapixel selfie camera, which delivers better than capable of Full HD video conferencing.

Outstanding battery

With all the connections you could want, including the latest USB Type-C port at the base, the OnePlus 3 is also incredibly future-proofed, and combined with a massive 64GB storage, offers plenty of room for all your files.

Need more storage? Pair it with Box from O2 for additional cloud storage and collaborative working while McAfee Multi Access, also from O2, will ensure your files are well protected.

Wrapping up with the battery and the large, 3000mAh cell will keep you powered up, while the Dash Charger that ships with the phone will give you roughly 63% battery in as little as 30 minutes. That’s enough for a full day of use.